In Defense of Earth (Part 1)

Posted on Sun Apr 6th, 2025 @ 12:48am by Captain M'Raz & Lieutenant Commander Jason Reeves

1,634 words; about a 8 minute read

Mission: Resistance is Necessary
Location: Starfleet Headquarters | Earth | Sol System
Timeline: MD001 - 0800

Henry Fitzhugh slept on his back, sprawled across the single bunk allotted to him, his curly red-brown hair already shaping itself into the tousled disarray that had often been called 'worst bed head ever'. He was gifted with the ability to fall asleep almost instantly wherever he was and after pulling a double, it was sheer luck that he had made it to his bed.

When the red alert klaxon sounded, he fell out of his bunk, rolling up to a sitting position, and muttering in his native tongue about drills when a voice, hesitant and high-pitched, came over the facility-wide communication channel. "Red Alert. Red Alert. Attention. This is not a drill. Earth is ... under attack .. by an unknown force ... (he heard a deep breath and the voice repeated, stronger this time) Repeat. This is not a drill. Earth is under attack. Personnel are ordered to report to their emergency checkpoints immediately."

[Meanwhile, Elsewhere]

An aging Admiral Marques Hunt stepped out of his building and into the front lawn. These days, he was around in an Advisor capacity but mostly retired from the major work that Starfleet required. In all his 102 years of life, Marques had never experienced an attack on Earth. Pulling out his communicator, he tried calling home to his wife Shance and his teenage nephew Betes. The kid spent his entire life in a Cardassian encampment and now the place that he was told would be safe was being invaded. The communicator came with nothing but static. Whoever was invading had jammed the signals.

Looking around, there were people scatted all over the place as they fled. Marques turned to the sky as torpedoes from space came down and began to hit the city. Some way too close to the neighborhood where he resided. He need to find a vehicle and get home quickly.

[Back in Quarters]

Late-night drills, combined with years of combat, had gifted Henry with the ability to get ready at a moment's notice. He dressed, put on his comm badge, and headed for the nearest armory. If Earth was under attack, he'd need weapons ... and transporter tags. He exited his room and stepped into mayhem. Security, many of them known to him, dominated this section of the dorms, and they were all doing roughly the same thing. Getting organized. They held a quick conference at the end of the hallway which got Henry elected, along with a few others, to gather weapons, while the rest headed to the checkpoint.

[San Francisco Suburbs]

Shanice Winters-Hunt was sitting in her living room when the monitor on the wall came to life. The news was reporting some kind of an attack. The news showed a cubed shaped ship in orbit that was firing down on multiple cities on Earth. Betes had gone to the school just a few hours and likely would be evacuated some place safe. Throughout the streets Shanice could hear the klaxons going off warning. And then she felt the ground shake. From all years of serving in Starfleet, she knew what the sound of a bombardment felt like. Switching channels to local, the retired Commodore watched as the city was getting leveled. Peeking through the window she could homes getting leveled in the distance.

Quickly moving into the next room, there was no time to gather any of things that they had acquired over fifty plus years of marriage. Shanice programed the transporter to Starfleet Headquarters. Stepping onto the pad, the elder woman transported just as the home three doors was leveled resulting in the destruction of multiple homes, including the one she shared with Marques.

[Back with Henry}

He pulled as many weapons as he could and started feeding them back to the guy standing behind him. Distribution went quickly enough and the arms locker emptied out quickly. With that done, Henry started moving toward the main doors that would lead out of quarters. His next stop he figured would be checking in with Security.

He took a deep breath and stepped out into ... the impossible. Some sort of soldier had beamed in and turned toward one of the security officers. Hit with two phaser beams, one from Henry himself, the creature disappeared only to be replaced a moment later by another and this time, the phaser blasts didn't work. The officer, a young female, who was trying to clobber the alien with the stock of the rifle she held, was touched. Just touched. The weapon dropped and she was gone in a transporter beam almost immediately.

"Okay," Henry breathed, "no touching." He crouched behind cover and fired a sustained blast, targeting the spot just above the eyes, and someone else, getting the idea, focused there as well. No effect. "Shields," he growled. Phasers are useless. "Okay," he muttered, "how do you like force fields ..."

[Meanwhile, Elsewhere]

Marques Hunt turned the corner to find a group of people running right by him. The things he saw was a complete and utter shock to him. A group of machines moving down the street and the grounds of the Starfleet Headquarters. Actually, it wasn't machines, but a cross between something humanoid and cybernetic. Turning around the older man quickly moved in the same direction as the fleeing crowd. It was moment like these that Marques wished to be young again. Hearing more scream, he could see other moving in another direction being chased down by these damn things. Getting off the grounds, now seemed like a less likely option.

At this point, fighting seemed like the only option. The retired then proceeded to move towards the security building which had a stocked armory. Through the crowd, he heard a familiar voice calling his name. Coming out the crowd fleeing was his wife, Shanice. "Shanice, " he called out.

Hearing her voice, Shanice turned to find her husband.

[Back With Henry]

Under cover, Henry closed his eyes and went through what he knew of the area. Force fields were a security measure designed to cut off sections. If they still had access to their computer systems, then maybe ... Heart pounding, he mapped the route out in his head, or tried to, and started sneaking toward the nearest access point he could think of. He'd have to be able to see though, else he'd be cutting off any chance their people had of escaping.

Escaping. Once he'd cleared the hallway, he took off running and came, some time later -- for all he knew, an hour, an eternity, two minutes -- came to a security station. He set up a force field, effectively cutting off a drone, and giving a cluster of cadets a chance to run. The grin starting to form on his face died almost immediately as the alien bumped up against it once, twice, and then, somehow was through.

He slid to the floor, banging his head against the console once, as he turned over options in his head. Phasers are useless. No access to, you know, bombs, and force fields didn't work. What about masking our people? Not his strength. "Blast," he muttered, "where's an engineer when you need one." He paused for a moment. "Surely, they've got someone around her to make sure the lights work and all of that. Okay, get a grip. Got to find someone. And..." he said as he rose to his feet and started searching on the console, "not get caught."

[Security Building]

Marques and Shanice entered the security building where a security team was geared up and guarding the door as they allowed people in. From the looks on their faces some of the security folks had engaged these things and fell back here to retreat as a last stance. The Admiral approached a young Lieutenant who from what he can tell was the senior officer of the group. "Lieutenant do you have a plan here?"

The young clearly nervous and sweating turned his attention to the Admiral. "Sir, right now the plan is to stay put until help arrives."

Shanice looked over to her husband with a disapproving look. "You need to get a handle of this situation."

"Pass two of those phaser rifles this way," Marques instructed.

A Petty Officer thought twice about handing the older man a weapon but quickly remembered that he had an Admiral's uniform. Passing two rifles over, Marques took one and handed the other to his wife.

"Look here everyone," Hunt spoke up. "Help isn't going arrive fast enough. Which means we have to help our damn selves in the meantime."

Shanice stepped forward. "This building is an old which had been renovated. But there are some unground passages."

"Are you certain about that," a civilians questioned.

"I actually did an article on the history of this building decades ago," she answered with a bit of pride in her voice.

"That's our plan," Admiral Hunt announced. "Shanice led a group to that passage and knocked down whatever walls you need to. I will stay here with six security personnel and guard the entrance long enough for you get things clear. Then we'll follow up right behind you."

[Back With Henry]

They were everywhere. Just ... everywhere ... but Henry, well, he wasn't looking to escape. He was looking for information. For a way to fight back. Bred into him, bone and blood, was the need to fight. Defend. And so, while everyone was looking for the nearest exit (and he showed more than a few the way), Henry was making his way to Engineering in search of an idiot like himself who wanted to fight more than he wanted to run. Or she. That would be fine too. Just .. the idiot part ... that mattered. It matter a lot.


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